Combi steamer
A hot air damper (also combi steamer, combi steamer, steamer oven , Switzerland combi steamer , or simply combi ) refers to a cooking appliance, which has so far been used mainly in commercial kitchens and food factories and is now offered as a household appliance. The combi steamer can generate dry heat like a convection oven , as well as moist heat like a steam cooker and use this alternately and automatically according to different program sequences . This makes the device suitable for gentle and quick cooking ( steaming ) of vegetables and potatoes, as well as for roasting and braising meat and for baking . The devices enable the catering industry to flexibly prepare a wide variety of dishes with improved efficiency and quality. A predecessor device was the Konvektomat . However, this refers to a pure convection oven without the function of steam cooking.
history
The combi steamer was developed by the Burger company in the late 1960s. This was taken over in 1976 by the Juno company in Herborn and is now part of the Swedish Electrolux group, which has further developed the devices and now sells them internationally as Electrolux professional . In 1976 RATIONAL presented its first device at the Internorga .
Numerous other companies entered the new segment. There are more than 50 different suppliers of combi steamers worldwide, although many manufacturers of commercial kitchen appliances only buy these appliances as additional items.
description
A combi steamer combines the functions of a steamer, in which food is cooked in a saturated steam atmosphere, and a convection oven, in which the cooking is done with convection . Since the devices' temperature and humidity can be changed over a wide range, they allow full control or regulation of the cooking climate over a wide range. In addition, due to the relatively high circulating air speed of the fan and the condensation of the steam on the food, a comparatively short cooking time and thus gentle preparation of the food can be achieved.
The variety of cooking programs and their combinability result in many options for the user.
properties
Due to the steam content of the cooking space air and the short cooking times, the nutrient and vitamin losses of the food are significantly lower than with conventional cooking methods and different cooking products can be cooked in different containers at the same time without any flavor transfer.
Combi steamers usually have the following operating modes:
- Steaming (cooking in a steam-saturated gas atmosphere) at typically 100 ° C, but also between 30 and 130 ° C. This operating mode is also suitable for vacuum cooking or sous vide.
- Hot air (cooking in a hot air atmosphere without additional steam supply) at between 30 ° C and 250 ° C or 300 ° C, depending on the manufacturer.
- Superheated steam (mixture of the two above-mentioned operating modes) between 30 ° C and 250 ° C or 300 ° C.
In addition, there are other special operating modes such as control based on the core temperature , Delta T cooking (control based on the difference between the cooking space and core temperature), low temperature cooking and regeneration of cooled food. Some appliances also allow food to be dried that is moist. With modern devices, the options for preparing meals are increasingly being expanded by electronic controls, also from the point of view of saving working time.
technology
The steam can be produced with two different systems:
- In the case of a boiler or boiler system, the steam is generated by a steam generator that is separate from the cooking space and, if necessary, fed into the cooking space.
- In the injection system, the steam is generated by distributing the water to the heating element in the core of the rotating fan wheel or a heat exchanger in the cooking chamber.
Food carriers with dimensions according to gastro-norms are normally used in the devices (GN food carriers), which can vary in width and are therefore only suitable for certain container sizes (1/1 or 2/3 GN). There are devices with a different number of slots, usually 6, 10, 20, 24 or 40 slots. Devices with 6 or 10 slots are usually table-top devices, those with 20, 24 or 40 slots are floor-standing devices. The number of racks per device can vary, however, as the food carriers (also known as racks ) are usually removable and can also be replaced with food carriers for Gastronorm grids (GR) or the bakery standard, depending on the requirements. Since no deep containers are required here, there is more space for grids or baking trays.
The free-standing devices can be filled and emptied at once with so-called mobile oven racks for quick batch changes. The prepared containers can be pushed into or removed from the combi steamer all at once using this trolley. This has the advantage that there is no heat loss due to the unnecessarily open door and large quantities of food can be prepared at the same time, while additional containers are prepared on another rack trolley, which can then be quickly exchanged for one another. In this way, dishes prepared and pre-cooked on plates can also be regenerated on special plate mobile oven racks.
Combi steamers require a water connection or a separate feed water tank and a water drain. Due to the extremely high output of the steam generator and the associated risk of rapid calcification, the lime content of the water must not exceed 6 ° dH (German hardness) for most manufacturers. Electrically heated devices require a connection for three-phase alternating current , those with gas operation require a corresponding gas connection. The devices also emit steam and, depending on the operating mode, odors and oil / grease mist to the environment via a ventilation line.
As a rule, cooking programs with several process steps can be entered in combi steamers. These can then also be saved in an electronic cookbook. The minimum requirements for combi steamer are described in DIN 18866 (large kitchen appliances, hot air devices and hot air steamers, German Institute for Standardization, June 2003).
The control is analog or digital, some devices are also equipped with a PC or USB interface or can be controlled via the Internet. The user interface is partly also via a touchscreen.
In addition, some of the devices also save HACCP data for documentation requirements in professional kitchens.
domestic appliances
In addition to the devices used in catering establishments, there are also devices for private households. In most cases, these are built-in cabinet devices according to the European standard EN 1116 with a device width of 60 cm or according to the Swiss SMS standard for a niche width of 55 cm. Features and technology largely correspond to the professional equipment used in catering with the following differences:
- With many models, the water required for steaming can be filled into the water tank from the front, so that a water pipe connection is not a requirement.
- There are devices that get by with a single-phase or two-phase electrical connection.
A distinction is made between combination devices the height of conventional household ovens (SMS 76.2 cm including drawer) and compact devices of half height (SMS 38.1 cm), which are either just steamers or combined hot air steamers with oven functions, the latter often being English. Combi steamer .
Depending on the type of steam generation and the placement of the water tank, there are differences in the dimensions of the usable space. If the water tank is located on the side, the usable space is narrower and higher than for devices with a water tank below or above the usable space.
In newly established household kitchens often compact combi steamer are microwave ovens have preferred a built-in version. As an additional device to the oven, a compact combi steamer can have the following advantages instead of a built-in microwave device:
- When preparing a meal, there are novel combination options such as steaming vegetables or preparing a gratin in the combi steamer and at the same time roasting or cooking meat in the oven.
- So-called "regeneration" of previously prepared dishes with new properties, whereby, in contrast to microwaves, better results are possible by warming up and steaming, depending on the food. In addition, meals can be regenerated on more than one plate at the same time.
- If a meal z. B. only consists of a pizza or a gratin, energy can be saved with the combi steamer compared to an oven, since the space to be heated in the compact device is significantly smaller.
Built-in devices cannot be disconnected from the power supply. While the devices are switched off, the electronics still require electricity. The so-called stand-by consumption is often much lower with new devices than with older devices, which did not yet contain as much electronics, but typically required around 5 to 10 watts of continuous power for the clock, time display and control. In Switzerland, the stand-by consumption of new household appliances has been limited by law to 1 watt since the beginning of 2013 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paschmann, Markus (2015): Chap. 27 - The combi steamer as an all-rounder. Community Catering Manual.
- ↑ Vacuisine of V-ZUG - V-ZUG AG - Switzerland. Retrieved November 3, 2019 .
- ↑ Principle of steam generation outside the cooking space
- ↑ Steamers are displacing the microwave. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, special supplement Real Estate, November 13, 2013, p. 23.